Please Explain: Natural and Artificial Flavors

If you look at many packaged food, you’re likely to find the words “natural flavors” and “artificial flavors” on the ingredients list. These terms seem ambiguous, but they explain why much of the foods Americans eat tastes the way it does. For today’s Please Explain, explain Dr. Gary Reineccius, professor and head of the Flavor Research and Education Center in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, and Barb Stuckey, professional food developer and author of Taste: Surprising Stories and Science about Why Food Tastes Good, explain what natural and artificial flavors are, how they’re made, and why they’re used in everything from cough syrup to candy to French fries to frozen yogurt.